Tuesday, 13 December 2011

The Canny Comic Con is now over and I'm exhausted. It was an amazing couple of days of comic related brilliance. Starting at the drink and draw session in the Tyneside Cinema and ending with the raffle on Saturday it was a non-stop comic wonderland. It was great to see some real comics heroes alongside the local small press comic crew. It was good for a middle-aged judge to turn up and keep order.

There are far too many people to name check each but a round of applause must got to Alex whose energy and enthusiasm were boundless. All of the events, workshops and panels were great and the who event ran like clockwork thanks to the library staff and the efforts of Stacey, Paul, Britt and Iain.

My Mini-Comic workshop went well with the help of Mrs Cuttlefish, Cuttlefish Jnr and Matt B. There were a wide range of attendees and it was great to chat to people about making comics.

I caught a couple of workshops which were both great and then I won loads of Viz goodies in the raffle. Also had some good sales thanks to the Paperjam Comics stall. Particular thanks should go to Nat and Eve for helping to carry what seemed like half a ton of comic stuff back to my car.

It was great to see lots of old comics pals and some new ones particularly from GLoW (the Glasgow League of Writers). I finally met up with Gordon, my collaborator on A*r*c*n*e*. Although I didn't spend as much time speaking to him as I'd planned.

The drinks in the Five Swans afterwards was also great. I can't really remember what I was talking about but I hope I didn't embaress myself too much.

Tuesday, 22 November 2011

Well Thought Bubble comics convention is now over and I'm exhausted. I had an excellent weekend with the Paperjam Comics Collective folk squashed in the Geordie Ghetto corner of the hall.

I shared a table with Paul (Hollow Earth) Thompson and Britt (Cutting Paper) Coxon. We all made some sales, with Saturday being the good day and Sunday being slower and quieter.

I met loads of great folk whilst there and will try to list them all below, if I miss anyone I apologise.

Graham Pearce (Sgt Mike Battle) - Excellent bloke and excellent comic
Metaphrog (Night Salad) - I loved their Louis comics, beautiful artwork and touching story. Picked up Red Letter Day. Lovely people.
Gary and Chris (Villainous) - Great chaps from Glasgow. Looking forward to reading issue 2.
Suzy Varty - North East comics legend. Great chat with her about Canny Comics Con.
Luke Halshall (Geek Syndicate) - Fantastic fellow I could have chatted with him all day.
Ed Murphy (Rough Cut Comics) - Great bloke, should be coming down to Canny Con. Forgot to buy any of his comics.
Philipa Rice (My Cardboard Life) - The family and I love her stuff. Picked up some real goodies from her stall.

My crowning moment was getting my copy of Cursed Earth signed by Mick McMahon. He then did me a sketch of old school Dredd in profile with massive chin. Excellent and awesome don't even begin to describe it.

Here's my Awards for the Paperjammers who were there:

Best Negotiator - Paul Thompson for the 'Starkings Gambit' technique. Honourable mention for Sophie and her Genki bargaining.

Best Sale - Paul Thompson and his print, he could of sold it three times over.

Best Curmudgeon - I've decided not to say who won this. But one Paperjammer was complaining about the overly strict approach taken by the Rollerskating Chicks in Gold Hotpants who were policing the event.

Friday, 11 November 2011

Taxonauts Comic is printed and on sale now. Or to give it its full title Taxonauts, Teabreak in Hyperspace. The long hard slog of scripting, drawing, lettering and printing has now been completed. The finished product is great and a cool addition to every comic collection. As you can see the cover looks ace and the inside is pretty good too.

Written by Matt Bovingdon and drawn by me, Taxonauts is an all-ages comic in the style of British understated sci-fi. It's a relaxed stroll through the Deep Space Tax Office with our wages slaves of the future; Gladstone and Speigel. It's got aliens, spaceships and meetings. Printed 24 A5 pages B&W with a full colour cover.

Taxonauts is now onsale at the Travelling Man shop in Newcastle and the record shop that Matt works in by the station but I don't know its name. It will also be onsale at this year's Thought Bubble Comic Con in Leeds and the Canny Comic Con in Newcastle. If you are there come along and say hello, I won't try and make you buy anything as I'm a very poor salesman. It may be available elsewhere soon.

Tuesday, 8 November 2011

This is a little wam-up cartoon I did on my Wacom Bamboo tablet and using GIMP. It's a doodle of me making first contact with an alien civilisation. Although the incident depicted did not actual happen, many exciting things have happened to me during breakfast. One day I may sketch the Zombie-Toaster incident.

The tablet is great for doing these quick cartoons, the ink pen with the diamond nib at 100% opacity is very satisfying and does give a nice finish.

I've recently been busy doing a couple of logos for the Canny Comic Con. These are being lettered by the marvellous Paul Thompson. When they're finshed I'll post them here. I am really fond of the robot but less so of the monster.

Saturday, 15 October 2011

This is a sketch I did for the Canny Comic Con blog (see link at the side of the page). It is to promote me as a guest and a seller of comics. CCC is a comics convention we are organising for December 10th this year. It's to promote comics in general and North East comics in particular. It's a free event and the main aim is for it to be fun and be accessable for the non-comic reading public.

The sketch itself is fairly accurate (apart from the Spacesuit and the space location) but I am bald and I sometimes wear a tie. But if I wanted everyone to know who I am I wouldn't call myself Cuttlefish.

Wednesday, 12 October 2011

Another one hour sketch using the Bamboo tablet. This is a cartoon Robot waiting for his lady robot holding a bunch of pink flowers. Again all inked and coloured digitally.Giving a a feel of an inked comic panel was exactly what I was after and was easy to do.

I am almost literally addicted to using the tab, it is some much fun and I could spend all day, every day just messing around on it and scribbling.

Sunday, 9 October 2011

This weekend I finally bought a graphics tablet. I'd seen Ingi Jensen use one during last year's Newcastle 24 hour comic day. His work on it was awesome. Sine then I've procrastinated about doing it, but now I have one.

I bought a really basic Wacom Bamboo Pen and tablet yesterday and I've been on it almost constantly. It is amazing although a little frustration. Getting the initial control doesn't take too long but the hand-eye co-ord stuff takes a bit of time. Not a single peice of paper or drop of ink was used.

This sketch is a robot I did as a trial. It seems to link in well with GIMP and it is easy to do some great looking work. I want to do comic and illustration type cartoon work like Ingi's here. But doing the painting stuff illustrations are great fun and really fulfilling.

Wednesday, 5 October 2011

I've found that one of the worse things about small press comics is the printing side of it. It is always a hassle and a lot of effort is expended.

At the moment I'm trying to sort out printing for Thought Bubble comic con this year. I've back-heeled printing of Taxonauts to Matt, but I've still got to do Trainee Space Chef, Giga and Food for the Dead. All of these will have colour covers, this will mean plenty of messing around and probably separate printers.

On the positive side, Newcastle comic star Mr Paul Thompson has lent me his long arm stapler. This is a godsend, well done Fella.

Sunday, 25 September 2011

Relief today as Taxonauts comic is finished. The final four pages are now lettered and have been sent to Matt. He's got the short straw of finding a friendly printer and arranging the printing.

It's been a labour of almost love for a while now, even after I decided to put four extra pages in. I'm glad I did. It took a lot of effort but it was worth it.

Taxonauts is Matt and my take on a future when Britain has conquered space and started taxing it. Creaky, bureaucratic, bad-organised and sarcastic it's what we think the future will be like.

All being well it will be available at Thought Bubble comic festival this year and the Travelling Man Comic shop in Newcastle in November. If you cant wait til contact me or Matt for a copy, you might just get lucky.

Wednesday, 7 September 2011

I'm now back from my holiday in Ibiza. Much time was spent on the beach and the bar. I took my sketch book intending to do loads of great stuff on my sun bed. True to form I only managed one, but I was pleased with in.

It's a little cartoon of our day in Ibiza old town and is an accurate record of events.

Now I'm back I've getting stuck back into loads of comicy stuff. A secret robot project with Paul Thompson, a new Trainee Space Chef script from Quinston, a great script for another Arse Cancer script from Gordon and Taxonauts has been drawn, now the cover is being done.

Sunday, 21 August 2011

The booking for this year's Thought Bubble comic festival has arrived. I am sharing a table with Paul Thompson and Britt Coxon. Also there maybe an appearance from Matt who scripted Taxonauts with me.

I will be selling Taxonauts, Giga, Evolution & Beep as well as Girl on a Spring and Trainee Space Chef. These appeared in Daniel Clifford's A4 Comic, but he is it reprinting. If I really try I could get some more stuff produced maybe some Mini Comics or a collection of shorts. Am planning a second Trainee Space Chef with Quinston Q Blowfish, we've got some ideas, but this may not make it to TB.

It should be a great couple of days, plenty of sales and a few drinks in the evening.

Tuesday, 9 August 2011

The first Arse Cancer strip, Waiting Room, is now posted online here for the world to see.

Expertly written by Gordon Robertson and drawn by yours truly, it's our take or his experiences with bowel cancer. We both wanted to do a strip about cancer and how it affected us as we are both sufferers. We didn't want to do anything maudlin, sentimental or worthy. So the strips can be a bit rude, but what do you expect from a comic called Arse Cancer.

More strips should follow soon, we mixed up the styles of the strips a bit. But they're all awesome.

Saturday, 23 July 2011

Excellent news, the table for Thought Bubble Comics Con 2011 has been sorted. I'm sharing with Paul Thompson and Britt Coxon and all being well our table will be on the Paperjam Comics aisle.

I'll have onsale Taxonauts, Giga, Food for the Dead, and Evolution & Beep. Also, there should be some other shorter works and mini comics. Now the panic starts to rise gradually as I struggle to get everything done.

Above is my icon on the for the Thought Bubble site. Might post a bigger one soon.

Friday, 15 July 2011

Paperjam Comics Collective have finally decided to do another anothology, hooray. Really it was Mr Oscillating Brow's master plan, but that's beside the point. The theme is Alcohol. Although I don't have any knowledge or experience of this subject I've decided to give it a go for the sake of Paperjam.

I've sharpened my pencils and drawn out the roughs already. It's a bit distasteful but fun.

After its been printed there'll be a launch party (usually 18 months post launch). Which probably won't involve alcohol at all.

Tuesday, 12 July 2011

This is a preliminary sketch of two of my favourite comic creations; Girl on a Spring and Snooker Goblin. They we done for a single page strip included in Daniel Clifford's A4 Comic Presents. I did this page quickly for Daniel as he needed an extra page. As always I was pleased to do it for him and I was overjoyed with the final result.

It is a tongue-in-cheek story of a teenage superhero crimefighter and the super villain Snooker Goblin. It was a combination of styles, the British Comics I grew up with and a bit of faux Manga.

I chatted with Bob Fischer when we were on his show earlier this year. He seemed to like it too. To get a copy of A4 comics contact Daniel.

Friday, 24 June 2011

This is a sketch I did at last night’s Paperjam Comics Collective night.It is a little one I did one biro with a page from Mike D’s notebook. It’s about the size of a Post-it Note. I gave the character the name of Alan the Nasty. I always seem happier with rough and quick sketches I do on scrap paper rather than big and planned affairs on A3 size.

It was an excellent evening at PJCC and as always it was great to talk to fellow comics geeks.Amongst the evening’s topics were 70s TV Sci-Fi, plans for a new Paperjam Anthology, Sapphire & Steel, Peter Wyngard, Jack’s new dice-based game and a new zombie board game. There were lots of other things chatted about too, but most were too unsavoury to mention.

I also got issue 14 of the Walking Dead (No Escape Zone). I’ll go through my standard comic reading preparation ritual before opening it. So I may spend a week preparing myself and getting excited about it.

Also had a look at an open box of Munchkin game. I have been looking for a new game to play with the family for a while and this seems like the one. But I ended up postponing the purchase as I spent my cash on the Walking Dead.

Paul, Hollow Earth, Thompson spent the evening drawing a couple of pages for the Music Anthology. Britt and Faye both made flick books, one about a plant the other about a chicken (‘A Chick Flick’, J Fallows).

Sunday, 19 June 2011

Here's Alpha and Omega a two page strip from PJCC's History and that anthology. They were the very first and last strips from the comic and showed the beginning and the end of the universe in a cartoony way.

I like these both. Good fun with a bit of pathos. These were exhibited along with Giga as part of the Made in Newcastle comic exhibition held a couple of months ago.

Tuesday, 7 June 2011

Here’s a pic of the jokey fan art I did for Sugar Glider Comic. I’ve posted it online before, but I like it so much I’ve posted it again.

Sugar Glider is the fantastic and well-received Comic created and produced by Daniel Clifford and Gary Bainbridge. Its central character Susie is also the masked hero of the title. I illustrated one of Daniel’s scripts along with The Christian for Sugar Glider stories.

Saturday, 4 June 2011

Alright so it isn't the real cover of my comic Giga. But I digitally coloured and shaded this image using GIMP. Then added text also in GIMP to make it into a cover image.

I love the finished result. Now I want to go back and add colour to everything I've ever done. It was much easier to do in GIMP than I expected.

Giga was a 24 hour comic so I'll leave the the actual comic as it was drawn on the day which was black and white.

Although I like the cover Daniel 'Sugar Glider' Clifford did for Food for the Dead I may redraw it. I'd like to get more information onto the cover including the names of all the contributors. I want it ready for the next printing to be ready for Thought Bubble this year.

Friday, 3 June 2011

Last Easter Bank Holiday weekend I sketched out a diary of the Team Cuttlefish events. We had a great weekend and I've always found it is fun to draw out the good bits of a holiday, party or event in a Cartoon Zine style.

We drove round Northumberland visiting the ruins Brinkburn Priory, Chesters Roman Fort on Hadrians Wall, Warkworth Castle and Aydon Hall all of which a English Heritage properties I think. Warkworth Village was good and the stroll along the River Coquet was great but we missed a boat trip to the Hermitage. Watching the Kite Surfers on Druridge Bay was great but I wasted about 100 photos failing to catch a decent shot.

It was Royal Wedding weekend and we celebrated by watching Newcastle Eagles Basketball Team win their final game of the Season. I'll always remember the risk of snow at Tynemouth while the rest of the country was sweating through a heat wave. I had to rub ice cream on my legs to warm them up.

Thursday, 2 June 2011

Here’s a nice drawing I did a few years ago for a mate. He knew I was a cartoonist and he wanted a picture of the queen (?!?).I also knew he was a fanatical Newcastle United supporter so I decided to combine the two.

At the time I drew this NUFC had the Blue Star logo on their shirts. Those days are long gone so I removed it before posting it online today.

I spent a lot of time getting her face looking right. It was done before I had a computer so messed around a lot with the photocopier to save the work between redraws. It was worth it.

It was drawn in ink on A4 sized paper and coloured using water soluble art pencils.

Tuesday, 31 May 2011

Recently I went along with my copy of Elephantmen Wounded Animals to a signing by Richard Starkings and Doug Braithwaite. I've recently got into Elephantmen and I'm hooked, so it was great to meet both of them at the Travelling Man comic shop in Newcastle.

The sketch and signing Richard did was great, although it did give him a bit of panic initially. I really liked the croc and also the lettering alongside. I've long been an admirer of his work with Comicraft.

It was excellent to look at Doug's sketchbook. It had some great stuff in his smooth and dynamic style. He was a top bloke and we chatted about his work and also working in the comic industry.

Welome to Cuttlefish Comics blog. This is to showcase my art, cartoons, writing and publications. It is a celebration of comics and the community behind it. It will focus mainly on my work, but I'd also like to show other creators work that I like or admire or anything else I find interesting. Cartoons will be posted soon.

About Me

Newcastle based Small Press Comic Creator, Writer, Artist, Cartoonist, Comic Fan, 24 Hour Comic Devotee and active member of Paperjam Comics Collective. I do commisions and welcome work with other artists and writers.
Follow me on Twitter: @CuttlefishComic